Improvement in rotary spadinq-machines



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D. MANN; Steam-Plow.

No Patented Apr. 23,1861.

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I Q M j qua-W 1? m My? N, PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAFMER, WASHINGTON D C U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

nonam) MANN, or noonns rn'n, NEW YORK.

IMPRGVEMENT m ROT RY SPADING-MAC'HINEAQIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent Nb. 32,137, dated April 23, 1861.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, DONALD MANN,0f Roch.- ester, State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rotary Diggingor SpadingMachines and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full,clear, and exact-description thereof, and of its construction and mode or manner of operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon onlyframe of the working machine. The central drum, which is much the largest, revolves directly upon the ground and carries the whole machine when at work. The forwardroller is somewhat in advance of the central one and a. little above the ground, --and,the'rear one is also a little away-from the central one, but

nearer the ground than the forward one, and, is

so placed in respect to the central drum that as the endless chain,hereinaftermentioned,passes .up over such back roller onto the central drum it passes or rises perpendicularly, or nearly so. Around these several drums and rollers passes an endless chain carrying forks or spades which are pressed into the ground by the onward movement of the machine. Any number of such drums or rollers may be placed side by side to obtain any desired width of machine;

The front roller, as'the chain passes over it, brings the forks, when coming in contact with the ground, into .a position nearly perpendicular with thesurface of .the ground, so that as the central drum revolves forward on the groundit presses the teeth and chains into the groundandthe back roller causes the forks, when leaving the ground, to turn at a right angle,-or nearly so, and pass up with a sudden movement to break-and stir the soil. a

ground for thepurpose of transporting it from place to place, or for any other purpose-and it is very difficult, if not praeticallyimpossible, to turn it without lifting the-forks out of the ground-the whole of the machine, with all its drums and rollers, has to be lifted perpendicularly and a distance exceeding the length of the weight of his machine is great, and as it requires a great number of teeth constantly in the ground, thepressure of the earth around all of which tends to make their withdrawal'more dilficult, the power required to lift it is very great, or theprocess of lifting slow. These are the principal features of Evanss machine, but reference toiris patent will show all its characteristics. My invention or improvement consists generally in arranging and supporting the rollers or spades ina frame'separate and distinct fromv that which is made the carrying truck or frame of the machine, bywhich I am enabled to reduce the size and weight of therollers ordrun'is',

the greater number of the forks or spades required in Evanss machine, and in-so arranging such frame that carries the drums and endless chains in respect to the carrying truck or frame and supporting it therefrom that the diggingv about one-half of its weight has to be raised,) and the whole machine of combined carrying! truck anddigging apparatus be at once ready for transpo'iation from place to place.

chine containing my improvements. Fig. 2 is of the'linlzs carrying the forks or spades.

desired or found most convenient.- For two or three horses it may be about four feet-wide by eight or nine feet long. Within this truck or carrying-frame A is suspended the frame which pass the endless chains 0, which carry When-Evanss machine is to be lifted from the the forks, so as to free it from the ground. ,As i

or drums carrying the endless chains of forks.

shorten the endless chains and dispense with apparatus can be easily raised and with-a comparatively little expenditure of power, (as only Figure l isa perspective view of such a avertical section of Fig. 1. Figs. 3, 4 are views 7 The carrying truck or frameA, towhich is attached the frame B, which supports the digging apparatus, maybeof any length and width.

B, which carries the drumsor rollersabc, around 7 the forks or spades .d d. The journals of all these rollers are in the'opposite sides of the frame B, and they may be so arranged as to be moved nearer to or farther from each other to tighten the 'endless'ch'ain, &c. The rollers a and b may be of about the same size, or one may be somewhat larger than the other, and

they need not be more than one-quarter the size of the large drum in Evanss machine. g The frame B is connected with and suspended from the truck A by bolts D D, or an axle in place thereof, passing through one end of such frame B, so that that frame and the rollers at c and endless chains 0 can be elewhich may be about four or five inches apart. The whole number of forks or spades d d re-' quired inmy improved machine is only about one-third of that used in Evanss original machine.

When the machine is at work the frame B is lowered, as shown in Fig. 2, and the several rollers are then in the position seen in that figure. When so at work the hind wheels of thetruck A are intended to revolve on the surface of the ground,and the weight of the truck A will act, with the weight and pressure of the digging apparatus, tofforce the forks dd into the ground. Extra weight may also be added for that purpose, if necessary.

When the machine is at work the roller a is higher than the others, and is so placed that as the endless chain 0 leaves it and the forks d d begin to touch the ground they will be 'at right angles, or nearly so, with the surface of the ground. The roller b, as the machine is moved forward, presses the forks into the ground. The roller 0 is so placed inrespect to the roller b as to cause the forks d d, when they are leaving the ground, to receive a sudden jerk or flirtpthe effect of which is that theground is' 'eifectuallybroken and pulverized. By the arrangement of the large drum and smallrear w nner in Evanss machine the forks, as they leave the ground, turn only about a rightangle,'b ut in my improvement, bychanging the relative size and position of the rollers b 0, the "forks are caused, asthey pass ontoand over the roller c, to turn'more than-a right angle,

and have therefore a greater flirt, thus-increasing the effect in pulverizin g the soil. By, carrying the roller cstill farther from 7 a more sudden turn may be given to the forks. The

arrangement in Evan'ss machine renders any such adjustment very difficult.

In Evanss machine, as the large d rum which forces the forks into the ground presses and revolves on the ground, not only the forks are I forced into the soil, but the links to which the forks" are attached will also be pressed and bedded into the ground, and these, as the machine revolves, will offer great resistance and" power to overcome:

req uire an expenditure of it; but by myimprovement, placing the digging apparatus in a separate frame and suspending it from the truck, so that its elevation or depression can be regulated, the forks only are allowed to enter the ground, and the links do not, and thereby the draft of the machine is materially diminished. By also reducing the size of the'rollers and materially shortening the endless chains a great amount of frietion is removed and the draft of the machine to the same extent rendered easier.

When the machine is not at workthe frame B and the. digging apparatus are raised, as I shown in Fig. 1, so that the forks (t (i will be above the ground. The truck A then at once.

becomes a carrying-truck, and the machine can be transported from one place to another.

To lift the frame B and the digging parts of the machine I ,employ a guard segment or seotor, E, the eurite of which is taken from the points D, and which is fixed to or made a part of the'frame B. On each side of and supported on the truck Ais a pinion, Ii, which is turned by the winch G workinginto the'seetor E, and by which the frame B is raised or lowered, as may be desired; Instead of the winch Ga rod, one end of which gears into the segment E, may extend forward to the drivers seat and be so an ranged that by it the frame B can be raised or lowered by the driver while he remains in his seat.

By so arranging the digging apparatusthat;

it can be raised or lowered as desired I can also regulate and govern the extent of the penetration of the forks 'd (2 according to the character of the soilor the kind of cultivation desired. In a proper soil the forksmay be made to penetrate theirentirelength,whileforloosening or scarifying turf or grazing land they can beregulated to penetrate but a few inches. In Evanss machine such a result can be obtained only by having various sets of teeth or forks of different lengths and substituting one for the other. Such arrangement also enables the driver or conductor of the machine to raise the forks, when necessary, to allow them to pass over any fixed obstacle, as a projecting rock or stump, without injury to the machine.

' Fig. 3 shows a couple of the links of the endless chain 0, with the forks or spades (Z (Z fixed to them and connected together by the strong chain-links f. Fig.4 represents the under side of the link, showing the bent edges 0' to run over therims'of the rollers a I) c, and the middie part curved to correspond with the roller 0, so as to pass round .it with but little friction. Different plans may be devised for arran in g the frame B, with its rollers and the end ess chain, inrespect to the truck A, and for raising and lowering such frame B or the digging apparatus and holding it or them in any position. My improvements thus consist in radical variations fromthe machine of Evans, by which I greatly economize in cost and power, and at the same time do the work more perfectly.-

re uce the length of chain, and thereby lessen greatly the friction of the machine, and also much diminish the weightofthewhole machine.

By suspending the frame containing the diggingapparatus in the carrying-truck, substantially'as described, I am enabled to lift the diggin g apparatus with comparative ease, asinstead of lifting its whole weight I have to lift only about one-haltits weight, and I am able to apply the power required at an advantage;

and by so arranging and suspending the dig ging apparatus I am also able, without any change of the forks or spades, to regulate and govern the depth of cultivation, as may be desired, and canalso raise the digging apparatus,-

machine is rendered very compact, and can be made so light as to be practically adapted for.

ordinaryusesandcapablc ofbeingeasilyworked by two or three horses,while Evanss machine, adapted'to do the same amount of work,.re-' quires from four tosix horses, and the entire machine can be furn shed at such a price as to be within the reach-0f all. 1 I I do not claim the use'of endless chains carrying forks or spades and revolving over diums or rollers for the purpose of cultivating or stirring the soil; but

What I claim as my invention, and. desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Arranging the drums or rollersa b c, with their endless chains 0, in the separate frame B, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

DONALD MANN. Witnesses:

S. D. LAW,

J N0. '0; WILSON 

